New York City’s gridlocked streets and unreliable subway service can make trips from Manhattan to JFK Airport treacherous, but a West Coast tech company announced a new, pricier solution on Thursday: electric helicopters.
Executives from California-based Joby Aviation unveiled a model of their futuristic aircraft at Grand Central Terminal. They claim it’s capable of reaching speeds of up to 200 mph and making the trip from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport to the Queens air hub in just seven minutes. Joby claims its helicopter — which it calls a “flying taxi” — is quieter than the choppers operated by companies like Blade, which also fly to JFK Airport but spark regular noise complaints from New Yorkers tired of hearing them rumble overhead.
Joby’s Chief Product Officer Eric Allison said the company would be able to launch the helicopter service at a relatively cheap price, similar to the luxury car services offered by Uber, which is collaborating with the company on the airborne airport connector.
“We think we can launch for something around Uber Black pricing, in terms of a per seat price,” said Allison, referring to the black car service in the Uber ride share app. “Then as we build our muscles … we think we could drive that price down toward the price of an UberX.”
The aircraft looks like a chubby dragonfly. It has six electric motors that help it take off and land vertically, and its motors are designed to rotate horizontally while in transit. The aircraft puts out zero operating emissions, according to Joby.
A spokesperson for Joby said the company is in the process of certifying the aircraft for commercial use through the Federal Aviation Administration. The company plans to roll out service in New York City and Los Angeles after obtaining that certification, but offered no timeline for the approval.
Allison said the company plans to launch the electric helicopters in Dubai by the end of 2025. He said the company has a “handful” of aircrafts in the U.S. that can launch once they’re certified.
The aircraft’s snug cabin has seats for four passengers and a pilot.
The announcement of Joby’s plans comes nearly a year after Mayor Eric Adams announced the first steps in developing a “sustainable transportation and deliveries” hub at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport.
Adams said in a statement at the time that the helicopter terminal would become the “first heliport in the world with the infrastructure to support electric flight” and supporting “quieter helicopter alternatives.” Joby test-piloted its electric aircraft during Adams’ press conference last November, where it took off from the heliport and circled the Downtown Manhattan skyline several times before landing back on the same pad.
On its website, Joby claims its electric flying taxi is as quiet as a conversation and that its team of engineers worked to make the aircraft “quiet enough to land in your neighborhood.”
“We’re able to tune the acoustic signature such that in can blend into the background, instead of the low frequency ‘wop wop’ of the helicopters that travels for miles and penetrates buildings,” Joby founder JoeBen Bevirt said at Adams’ press conference last year. “It sounds more like the noise of traffic or of a fan.”
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